


The Mystery of the MacAlister Mansion

by Asmodeus



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bad Carpentry Knowledge, Ghosts, Haunted Houses, Multi, Taakitz Week, VERYPAINFULLYSLOWBURN, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000, also bad taggings, but i promise thats end game and hes coming !!, it has no taakitz or kravitz yet, more tags and characters to be added as i get them written in and such, painfully slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-04-13 12:13:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14112093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asmodeus/pseuds/Asmodeus
Summary: when taako took up jobs with magnus it was very rarely because he wanted to go into a spooky ass mansion that has flickering candles at night and shady figures in windows.but that seems to be where he's ended up anyways.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is 7 chapters outlined right now and the writing mojo for it has returned so for day two of taakitz week i present my painfully slowburn taakitz modern au i've been sitting on for a month with no kravitz in the first 2 chapters ( i'm sorry ).
> 
> i promise it's coming though.
> 
> also unbeta'd.

When Taako decided to tag along to help Magnus on a job, he didn’t expect it to be patching up the fence at the super old creepy mansion everyone knew about but didn’t know the history of.

 

See, Taako remembers walking by it when he was younger, his twin sister, Lup, at his side as the two of them dared each other to go closer and closer. Kids did that a lot and more often than not said kids learnt not to knock on the doors or to throw rocks at the windows. Lup and him had gone and knocked at the door once, only once, because when you hear footsteps from behind them when you know it should be empty ??

 

Very spooky.

 

Other kids told stories of a ghostly figure passing by a window, or piano music heard in the dead of night. No one knows what the story behind it all is of course but Taako didn’t exactly want to find out. So when Taako hears where Magnus agreed to patch up, he can only stare wide eyed at the man before narrowing them in confusion.

 

‘  Mango. Maggie. Magnus -- can we have a talk for a second ?? Mano a mano ??  ‘ Ears flick downward as the carpenter blinks and grins, wide as ever as he centers himself to speak to the elf.

 

‘  Course !!  What did you want to talk about ??  ‘ His tone seems less apologetic than Taako could ever hope for, and he plays it off as Magnus not knowing the stories about the mansion at all because he moved here after their generation thought it was a good idea to constantly badger the ghosts that resided there  ( or whatever they are, Taako wasn’t planning on learning anytime soon ).

 

Clearing his throat, Taako stands himself up straight which, sadly, doesn’t come to much of Magnus’ full height but its an attempt.  ‘ Are you out of your mind ?! ‘ Hands fling out in front of him and grab at the humans shirt as he leans in close, head tilted up to try and get a better look at whatever was going through his mind.  ‘ The MacAlister Mansion has been abandoned for  _ years _ , hombre.  No one lives there and so no one should be telling you to fix the fences there !!  Its private property all the kids around here just had fun poking at and all the ghosts in there spooked off every single one of us !!  And you’re telling me ?? Your good ol’ buddy pal Taako, that we’re going to walk  _ through _ the house because its unlocked, into the back, and fix the fucking fence over a couple weeks ??  ‘

 

Taako finds himself slightly out of breath as he finishes his rant, fingers loosening their grip as Magnus’ own rest over them and pull them off.  His smile is still strong but now,  _ now _ , Taako can see something wavering in it.  ‘ We’re doing this for the city. Something about not letting it be as spooky and run down ??  Maybe selling it off ?? I can’t remember Taako, but I’m sure it’ll be fine !! I promise !! ‘

 

That promise is all that holds Taako off from screaming and running, he's positive. The day before the two of them are expected to go over and do the preliminary check over  ( more so accurate to Taako being there so that Magnus isn’t alone on jobs anymore and Magnus does the work ) Taako decides to walk by the mansion on his way home from his own  _ real _ work at the bakery.  Most days he avoids this route. Why ??  Of course because of the spooky mansion at night.  Rightfully so it seems because he can see candles lit inside one of the main rooms, faintly through the thin curtains but still there, lit, bright. As well as a soft tune on violin. If he hears a piano accompanying it, he’ll never say.

 

Magnus has Taako up bright and early the next day, running around as they gather things together to start the prep work for the fencing. Taako is more so just reading off Magnus’ list and making sure he gets things when he jumps around and his attention span lasts less than ten seconds, but he's helping in his own way he supposes. They end up with what seems like a picnics worth of random gadgets that Magnus needs before they finally head over, all shoved in a side bag that Taako could barely lift with two hands let alone the one hand Magnus just throws it over his shoulder with.

 

Show off.

 

There's no music or candles lit when they arrive this time, the insides of the house seemingly dark and silent when they approach the doors. The walk there Taako had whined and complained about going back here after enough issues with the mansion in the past. But he supposes that Magnus is fearless when it comes to ridiculous things like haunted houses and spooky ghosts -- fearlessness that the elf may assume be the cause of his death or not but that's besides the point.  ( Or a very big point actually because Taako doesn’t plan on dying any time soon which is why he never has been in a car in a long time and also never approaches the  _ spooky scary ghost mansion _ .  )

 

Magnus knocks on the door for some unknown reason before he just  -- opens the door and carefully walks in. Taako can only think  _ bless his nieve soul _ as Magnus does so, floorboards creaking under his weight as they enter.  There's no lights lit from what they can see, but the curtains are thin and worn down enough that light from outside brightens the place up enough to see what's around them both which is … nothing spooky just oddly offsetting.

 

There’s not a speck of dust to be seen around the entrance, nothing in the air or on the table by the door where keys seemed to be placed when someone lived here. There's coat hooks with … cloaks ??  Taako isn’t quite sure, but he’s not prepared to figure out exactly what they are ( he does know there's three of them, long enough to hit the floor from their places with hoods falling back off the place they’re hanging from  ). There’s a pair of old shoes under them, black and in decent shape, beside them are a pair of red sneakers he feels like he knows and a pair of dress shoes that could belong to … well, anyone, but they’re in good shape too and are stylish enough that if this place didn’t give him the heebie jeebies he’d take them home with him, they look just his size after all.

 

But this wasn’t what they were here for, they had to get through, get work done, and head on home. The house seems to have a simple set up from what Taako can see, the hall they entered in stretching right through to the back porch and yard. No detours then it seems, kept their jobs too easy if anyone cared to ask him. There’s a creak of floorboards and they both pause, Taako looking up at the ceiling before wideyed towards and motioning both hands towards it when the noise repeats. Magnus only laughs,  _ laughs for Istus sake _ , and Taako hurries through to the backyard, door unlocked happily as he steps out onto the porch and takes in the sunlight again. Much better than a creepy old house.

 

But, even the backyard puts an unease in his bones. Its entirely cared for, no overgrown lawn or shrubs, the tree is old but seems still in good health -- there's even a wooden swing hanging from it that looks to be a fairly recent addition. It made no sense to Taako, this place had ghosts if anything and ghosts couldn’t do things like mow the lawn or dust the shelves … right ?? That's just not how ghosts should work.

 

Magnus is what takes his mind off the obvious matters and into the more important ones. There's his gentle knocking at the fence, a tight furrow to his brows as Taako approaches him, arms folded across his chest before he frees one and raps a knuckle against the wood himself. Cocking one brow up towards the carpenter, Taako only expects a response and verdict about their job now.

 

‘  Well,  ‘ Magnus starts, his tone not too promising at all,  ‘ I think it’ll need to be entirely redone. The woods rotted down near the base, the paints not peeling but its worn off here and there. We’ll need to seal the new wood, then paint it and probably seal it up again.  ‘ His own arms are crossed now and Taako can only watch as the man's brain starts to flick through different options and colours and wood types and hardware that Taako has no idea on.

 

‘  Oooooor, we could leave and come back another time to work at all the measurements and make our time here less.  ‘ Motioning to the skyline, the sun had started to set. While the heat was still there, they both knew it would cool down and make maneuvering the house even in its simple path a harder job than needed.  ‘ Plus I have a killer dinner to prepare tonight, so just text me when you know the next time you’re free. Hows that sound, Mango ?? ‘ He starts heading back towards the house, Magnus following with an affirmative answer.

 

When Taako makes it home though, he only begins to process that the house had smelt faintly of cookies on their walk back through.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i still write i swear --

‘ Maggie you better be home or I’m going to egg your house !! Or even worse -- step in your flower bed !!  ‘

Taako’s morning today could be best described as a disaster.

His apartment was chill when he woke up, he felt like someone was watching him before he moved in his bed and did something, he had way too much work he was falling behind on for his restaurant ( but bless their souls Joaquin and Ren did wonders keeping the place rolling while he did ghost house work with Magnus ), he almost got hit by a car on his walk over to Magnus’ place -- and now, well now where was Magnus ?? They had agreed yesterday to regroup and discuss about the fencing but here Taako was, standing in front of a house knocking on the door for ten minutes and threatening to stomp in a flower garden that was … well, it was a really cheap move actually. Taako knew too well that Julia had loved that garden and by extension of loving her, Magnus loved the garden too.

‘  I’m sorry, that was a low blow, Mango. I take it back -- but come on big guy, you have to let me in some time !!  ‘

Shifting his weight from one leg to another, Taako lets out a slow sigh before going over to the fence to their backyard, peeking through the slats to try and get an idea on if he was back there was headphones on and working on something -- which Magnus was back there, but rather than being busy it looked like he was just lost in his own little world while he swung back and forth on the couples swing the couple had built and hung from the tree on their fifth anniversary. Taako wants to just leave Magnus there, but they both knew how badly it went when Magnus was left to his thoughts for too long ( Lucretia had said many times that when given time to think the worst comes out ).

Luckily for Taako there was no shortage of small rocks or acorns to throw into the yard, hopes of hitting Magnus even lightly to try and knock him out of his thoughts. It takes about four rocks and six acorns before Taako hears a yelp from him, which leaves a wide grin on the elf’s lips.

‘  One out of ten, not a bad job for someone like me -- now Maggie we gotta get to work my dude, we have a job at a creepy house you signed us up for !!  ‘ Letting his voice carry into the back, there's an affirmative shout before the gate to the yard is unlocked and Taako is face to face with a sheepish Magnus.  ‘ Now, what led to today's trip to lalaland, my man ?? I’m no Luc but I can see what I can do to help. ‘ One arm rests over his middle as Taako spreads the fingers of his other out between them, presenting what little he could give to the table to assist.

Magnus remains in silence, most likely in thought Taako supposes, but it doesn’t last too long. A hand comes up to rub the back of Magnus’ head and there's a soft chuckle before he finally speaks, quiet but there.  ‘ I dreamt about her again last night, Taako. ‘ He doesn’t finish the thought out loud but Taako can get a hint when given one.

‘  Well of course you did, Magnus. I still have dreams of Lulu and Barold. But they aren’t here, y’know ?? We gotta cherish what we have, or well, that's what Luc tells me.  ‘ Taako’s never been good at comfort, its one of those things that he’s just never needed to do. Lup dealt with anyone whenever they got hurt or needed the support because she had just always been the better one at those things … but now Taako was alone and had to pick up those missing pieces.

Taako just watches as Magnus shifts, expression almost falling when he seems to come to the same conclusion and gives a slight nod.  ‘ Yeah, I know. I just miss her so much, Taako. ‘

‘  My man -- please don’t cry on me. This shirt is expensive and won’t stand up to your man tears.  ‘ He wishes he could do more, that he was more like Lup, but Magnus still breaks into a chuckle and Taako smiles because well, no one's perfect so this will have to do, right ??  ‘ There we go. Now, let’s do some fence talk, shall we ?? Taako doesn’t have all day after all !! ‘ Its completely a lie but Magnus is beaming now, turning towards the piles of wood in a corner by the makeshift workshop his garage is.

Talk about the fence goes into the early afternoon, Taako sitting on the back steps of Magnus’ porch as the other rummaged through supplies and tools to find things they would need. The fence was a big project and a fair distance away from Magnus’ house which meant that they would need to bring the bigger tools like his bandsaw over to the mansion and hook it up in the back to get most of the bigger things completed -- which was the bulk of the job. There was talk of installing a gate with metal detailing near the front to help bring things into the back easier -- but it was better to not overhaul and change the fence too far from the original so most of the supplies would be brought over when the front of the fence was torn down to get replaced. Taako would see if the kitchen was in working order and manage a lot of the food for them to survive off of and would bring supplies day per day if the fridge was that far out of repair or unhooked because of the abandoned state of the building.

‘  We can get Killian and Carey to help us get a lot of the supplies and such there,  ‘ Magnus beams when they’re on the way to the mansion finally ( to do some final measurements and details for their game plan Taako thinks  ).

‘  Killian and Carey ?? Sweet flips ain’t gunna help at all, you know that Maggie.  ‘

The two women were Magnus’ closest friends besides Taako and Merle. The drank every friday at the bar Avi run, were there for him at Julia’s funeral and stayed at his house for a month after her death to ensure that the man didn’t run himself into a bad corner to follow behind her. They also were the two to get both Magnus and Taako to go see Lucretia after the deaths of their loved ones -- so they were important to them both. But manual workers ?? Less likely in Taako’s eyes. Carey was a circus performer while Killian was a bouncer at Avi’s bar most other days of the week.

It doesn’t take long for Magnus to convince Taako to let them help though, rolling his eyes before shoving hands into his pockets and continuing their brisk pace to the mansion. Magnus had offered to drive -- he always does and its sweet of him -- but Taako refused as per always, a brow raised before turning on his heel  ( they’re nice boots he can wear them whenever he likes ) and starting his march towards the mansion. It’s a better of an hour walk for the two of them, conversation jumping between this and that -- sessions with Lucretia to their summer plans to some interesting characters on the streets with technicolour bowties -- and times passes by quick enough that they almost walk right by the mansion.

The door is unlocked as normal, Taako pushing it open and taking into account everything that was there before and -- a missing cloak and pair of shoes. It shouldn’t shock him as much as it does  ( Magnus seems to not even notice it ) but Taako simply shakes it off and moves along. A mysterious missing cloak and pair of shoes won’t do too much in ghostly means, after all it meant one of them was out of the house then. Less ghosts equalled better ghosts in every situation.

The hall leading back to the yard is clean as normal but Taako takes the time to peek into the rooms as he walks through. The first room to their left is a sitting room, the walls lined with old wallpaper and the couches reflecting the old style of the decor. There’s a dusted old glass table with a single wine glass on it. A fireplace rests against the far wall with old bones on the mantle and pictures that Taako can’t make out from this distance.

To his right is a small library, two chairs sit in the center of the room by the front window. On the table between them is an open book and -- a single lit candle. It only takes the second Taako blinks before the warm draft he felt from the room turns cold and the candle blows out, smoke rising slowly into the still air of the building. He can feel Magnus behind him, the man a giant heater, as he pokes his head in to see what was going on.

‘  Huh, guess someone was here earlier cleaning and left a candle going ?? That cold draft sure got it out though. For an old house it gets pretty chilly in the summer …  ‘ He seems to have nothing going on between his ears most days because no one else comes here besides them so there was no reason a candle should be lit -- it was warm and then absolutely chill. Nothing makes sense and Taako hates it, the only explanation he can give is ghosts and most days Magnus has been brushing those off.

Taako can only grumble his complaints, knows Magnus will just laugh if he brings it up, and continues on, straight towards the back door, unlocked in its usual state as odd as it seems to him. Who even held the key to this place ?? Has it been unlocked for all these years ?? Taako ony shakes his head, a furrow to his brows as he sighs and knows too well some of his classmates had been brave enough to try and get into the house -- always locked. So what .. what was it about now that made it different ??

Dropping himself onto the back steps off the porch, Magnus pushes beside him and into the yard. The sun felt much better against his skin than the chill breeze the house gave off. It wasn’t late enough in the year for everything to be as cold as it was in there, but perhaps it had an old cellar and the draft came from up there -- he’d search the house for it but honestly ?? That was a dumb fucking idea, of course he wasn’t going to search the house. He was much happier out on the back deck and basking in the rays while Magnus bumbled about and did his measurements.

It’s about seven minutes in that Magnus finally looks up from his current project, hollering at Taako from the opposite end of the yard.

‘  We’re going to need to set up a shop back here, Taako !! There’s a lot of work to get done !!  ‘

The elf can only roll his eyes, propping his chin in hand as he raises a brow towards Magnus.

‘  No fucking duh, my dude !!  ‘

Shifting himself around, Taako leans back onto his elbows, eyes slipping closed as he takes a deep breath and lets it out. He didn’t spend too much time out here, the fresh air and all that. His kitchen was more important, honing skills and writing down recipes from memories he refuses to let go of. It’s another ten minutes of Taako watching Magnus before he starts to feel watched himself. It’s a feeling he gets when he’s at work, knows that people enjoy looking at him, after all he was Taako and he was damn good looking -- but right now felt … different. He was watched but not in the normal way.

He tries to shake it off but the feeling doesn’t leave, so after another few minutes Taako finally shifts his head, looking towards the house and glaring -- before eyes growing wide.

Had that been … ??

Bolting himself up and spinning, Taako ignores the splinters in his hands to watch the house -- he could have sworn he had seen a flash of blonde and red hair -- but hey, Taako was tired after the weird night he had himself so it could just be his head -- grieving was a weird thing after all.

No matter though, this place gave him the creeps.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no buffer after this. rip me.

Panic hits her like a bag of bricks.

It almost feels like her feet can’t move her fast enough out of the way, pacing immediately through the livingroom ( ha ) once she tucked herself away in there.

Taako. That was Taako, and he might have seen her.

Candles light as she passes by them, more worried about the rising panic in her system than the fact the two in the back could walk back through at any time -- they had already almost caught Barry and her in the library earlier after all. Fingers curl into her hair, tugging even though she can’t rightly feel the pain but she knows it’s there. 

This was bad, this all was very very bad.

Lup barely notices when Barry enters the room, settling out the temperature in there to a comfortable one compared to the heat Lup gave off on a regular basis. Out of the corner of her eye she stops and sees Barry put out each of the candles she lit, focusing enough energy to snuff them and nothing more. It’s a simple action, but one Barry does only when he knows others are around the house to settle the feeling that others would find out -- not that it makes much difference because so many people knew the house was haunted.

It’s a slow deep breath she doesn’t need before she speaks though, arms across her chest as brows furrow.  ‘ Babe -- thats Taako. Taako’s here, in the back. He’s who almost caught us earlier, he’s who was here the other day -- and Magnus is with him.  ‘ The calm in her doesn’t last and Barry can only open his mouth to speak before Lup starts again, louder but still unheard of to those outside. ‘  Barold thats Taako !! Why is my brother here ?! I was watching him from the window and he might have -- he might have seen me Barold -- ‘

She’s cut off when Barry approaches her, a finger to her lips as he gives a weak smile. He looks tired is all she can think for a second, even though they both were ghosts the man looked like he was ready for a century long nap if he was lucky enough to get one.

‘  Lup ?? We’re dead. Ghosts. He can’t see us.  ‘ His voice sounds resigned, like he had given up long before he even died, long before he knew this was what he was going to be up to for the next stretch of his … well, not life, but being would cover the description for now.

There’s still a restless energy in her though, a sort of anxious twitch as Barry removes his finger and goes to sit on the couch. No more candles light up as she paces again -- but the two of them freeze when they hear steps going through the house again, Taako’s laugh isn’t as happy as she remembers it and it only hurts her more as she watches the two pass through to the entrance and leave, not noticing Barry and herself in the living room, in plain sight to be seen if they could be.

‘  See ??  You’re fine, Lup. Come sit with me.  ‘

She’s tense still, wound up with this energy she doesn’t know how to release. She still sits herself down, one leg crossed over the other as she bounces her foot. An arm wraps around her shoulders and Lup lets herself fall against her fiance’s shoulder, foot still bouncing as she stews in her thoughts and what was to come from it.

It’s a few hours later that they hear footsteps in the main hall, Lup sitting herself up again. The door didn’t open which meant it could only be one person -- or well, one reaper to be precise. Hopping off the couch she finds herself in a brisk pace, silly she’s sure as Kravitz would enter the library or the living room in no time at all, facing him in the front hall with a stern look. She watches as he hangs up his cloak and takes off his shoes at the door, a brow raising slowly on his face as she doesn’t move, doesn’t speak.

‘  Is there … something you want to tell me, Lup ??  ‘

It takes so little for her to take the last few steps forward, fingers curling into his suit as she yanks the other forward then pushes him back in quick movements. The panic rises in her features before pressing her forehead against his chest and the slight weight of a hand rests on her head. It’s rare for her to break like this, but she hasn’t seen Taako in years, she would do  _ anything _ for him.

‘  Taako … my brother has been one of the ones visiting the house, bone boy.  ‘

Lup can feel the reapers body tense, but its only for a second or two before he relaxes. Fingers trail down in her hair  before Lup pulls herself away from Kravitz and looks up the short distance it takes to meet his gaze. He seemed … calm, even after hearing who was entering their home. But she supposes there’s nothing they can do about it anyways in the end anyways.

Taking a step away from her, Kravitz pulls out the ribbon that was holding his dreads up and smiles, coiling the item around his hand before placing the hand on her shoulder.  ‘ I didn’t know who it was, we were all upstairs last time, right ?? ‘ He does seem to think on it for a moment though, Lup watching him carefully before he seems to reach the end of whatever thoughts he was running through his head.  ‘ Nothing much we can do about it though, Lup. By the laws of the living this house is empty, so we have to just let them do what they want. ‘

Taking a full step away from him, Lup sighs, loudly, even if none of the occupants of the mansion had any reason to breathe anymore. She’s still sure that Taako had seen her, his expression was -- panicked but also resigned, like he knew he saw a ghost. Hands run down her face before Lup turns back to the living room and resigns herself to stewing in her own anxious panicked emotions.

There’s the steady sound of footsteps down the stairs and Kravitz’ attention gets drawn towards it for a moment before back to her retreating figure.

‘  Also, please don’t refer to me as  _ bone boy _ again, Lup.  ‘

Waving it off, Lup settles herself onto the couch beside Barry again, an arm wrapping around her shoulders and into her hair as she closes her eyes. She was going to struggle not to speak to Taako, but there was no way she could hold off forever, not with how depressing her twin had looked that day, how depressing he’d look every day he visited and she never reached out to speak to him.

Reapers may not have a need to sleep, but Lup finds herself dozing off with these thoughts as a dog barks from the backyard.

**Author's Note:**

> hmu @ otterly on tumblr to yell at me about these gay dorks.  
> comments and kudos give me life and the will to continue writing this.


End file.
